Human League – Live At The Dome
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C Concert: B-
The Human League were one of the great early New Wave
bands thanks to MTV, their phenomenally successful Video for Don’t You Want
Me and the fact that at first, they played all their music on electronic
instruments. That was something unheard
of, shocking and even offended some people who thought this was a path towards
plasticness or even totalitarianism!
However, the music had Soul influence and they were New Romantics as
much as ABC, Adam Ant, Heaven 17 or any of the other hot British acts of the
time. Live At The Dome is a
recent concert over two decades later.
They cover that hit and later gems like Mirror Man,
Human, (Keep Feeling) Fascination and the daring The Lebanon. Even if they are not at the peak of their
power and the energy and pace are not at the top power of their early glory
days, the vocal performances are not bad and their showmanship is top notch. The three members of the hit years, Philip
Oakley, Susan Anne Sulley and Joanne Catherall, are still together after all
these years and the chemistry remains.
The concert lasts about 85 minutes, but is not bad for its length. Fans will not be too disappointed and it
proves the band was not just good for a few singles. They were often as great and fun as their reputation and
popularity promised. Now can we get
their early albums remastered?
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was hot in
digital High Definition video and it is colorful and shot decently, but has
just a few too many detail issues in this trade-down. Maybe an HD version would play better, but this will still
do. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not
bad, is well recorded, but a DTS mix would have been nice. The band was shortchanged recently on the
two-channel only Super Audio CD of the Dare album when the better DSD
(Direct Stream Digital) tracks did not sound much better than a better CD. Maybe an HD version of this disc could have
better sound. Extras include an
interview, stills, text biographies and all access areas segment behind the
scenes. Be sure to read more about them
and the great documentary Made In Sheffield at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2832/Made+In+Sheffield+-+The+Birth+Of+Electronic+Pop
- Nicholas Sheffo
